Report: UConn falls out of top 20 public universities

The University of Connecticut remains one of the nation's top 25 public universities, despite falling on the list four spots, according to a new report.

The report by U.S. News & World Report ranks Connecticut's flagship state university No. 22 for public universities, down from last year's No. 18 ranking.

School officials blame the downgrade on "consistent cuts in UConn's state grant aid" over recent years.

State funding for UConn and UConn Health has decreased by $163.8 million since 2010, UConn said, with tuition increases recovering just 63 percent of that loss.

Outgoing President Susan Herbst said it is "frustrating" the school dropped in the ranking because of funding cuts, adding she knew it would negatively impact its national standing.

"It is vital that the state, the university community, and prospective students know that the reasons behind this drop are primarily about our finances, not the quality of the education that UConn offers," Herbst said.

UConn ranked highly for its freshman retention rates (93 percent) and average class size (53 percent of classes have less than 20 students).

Since 2012, UConn's average incoming freshman improved their SAT scores, and more were ranked in the top 10 of their high school class (54 percent) even though the school's acceptance rate narrowly climbed to 47 percent over the five-year period.

The report ranked UConn tied for No. 63 among all U.S. colleges and universities and No. 89 in "Best Value Schools."

In Connecticut, Yale University remained No. 3 overall, Wesleyan University jumped to No. 21 among national liberal arts colleges and Trinity College and Connecticut College tied at No. 46.